Armadores Y Congeladores Del Pacifico S.A.

Plant

address: Av. A N°4041, Mza F, La Zona Industrial De Paita
city: Paita
region: Paita, Piura
country: Peru

Labor & Human Rights
Fishing*

Armadores Y Congeladores Del Pacifico S.A. is directly associated with labor & human rights issues such as wage-related violation. It is also linked to fishing concerns such as fishing in closed areas or during closed seasons.

View notes

Labor & Human Rights: In 2018, the office of the regional mayor of Piura evaluated a complaint made against Armadores y Congeladores del Pacífico for the full and timely payment of conventional wages and salaries.

Armadores Y Congeladores Del Pacifico owns at least 11 vessels whose catch goes primarily into making fishmeal, according to the Friend of the Sea vessel database from December 2024. Information about vessels can also be found on Peru’s Ministry of Production’s online vessel consultation service.¹

The company has a well-documented pattern of its ships engaging in illegal fishing, a review of court documents and other government records showed. Its ships repeatedly fished in marine protected areas or during a closed season and caught banned quantities of juvenile fish. Between January 2020 and March 2025, at least one vessel owned by Armadores Y Congeladores Del Pacifico fished in marine protected areas, according to satellite data analyzed by OceanMind and ProtectedSeas. Each incursion lasted at least five hours and they happened more than 38 times. The protected areas targeted included Nazca Ridge National Reserve.² Fishing in Peru’s marine protected areas is generally illegal for industrial vessels and only allowed for small‑scale fishers under strict, area‑specific permits.³

In 2018, the office of the regional mayor of Piura evaluated a complaint made against Armadores y Congeladores del Pacífico for the full and timely payment of conventional wages and salaries.⁴ On May 27, 2022, the Ministry of Production issued a supreme decree that allowed offending fishing companies, including Armadores Y Congeladores Del Pacifico, to reduce their fines by up to 90 percent.⁵

The San Juan: On October 18, 2017, this ship was recorded going too slowly inside a restricted area, a leading indicator of illegal fishing. The company was sanctioned in a final resolution from the Ministry of Production on October 15, 2019, which included a fine and the documentation of the illegal catch.⁶

The Matilde: On September 26, 2017, this ship was found to have been fishing out of season. In a second incident recorded on October 14, 2017, the same vessel was found to have extracted a percentage of juvenile hake at a level exceeding the amount allowed by established standards of the Ministry of Production. For the first infraction, the final resolution dated September 11, 2019, the Ministry of Production imposed a fine and seized the catch.⁷ For the second infraction, finally resolved on August 19, 2019, the Ministry of Production imposed a fine and the confiscated hake was donated to a town.⁸

The Aurita: In March, October and November 2017, this ship was fined by the Ministry of Production for extracting juvenile fish in an amount exceeding established limits.⁹ In the first instance in March, the Aurita unloaded over 14,000 tons of hake and exceeded the small-size fish threshold by more than 75 percent, according to a Ministry of Production report from August 2019.¹⁰

The Isabel: Between January 2020 and March 2025, this ship spent five or more hours fishing in Peru in a marine protected area, according to satellite data analyzed by OceanMind and ProtectedSeas. The areas targeted included Nazca Ridge National Reserve.¹¹

Armadores Y Congeladores Del Pacifico S.A. did not respond to a request for comment.¹²

Footnotes (12)

Fishing Vessels in Peru spreadsheet. A December 2024 download from the Friend of the Sea database lists the vessels owned by Armadores Y Congeladores Del Pacifico. For more information on the Ministry of Production vessel online inquiries service, consult the webpage.
Fishing activities within the Nazca Ridge MPA (Dorsal de Nasca) are not illegal. This MPA is the first in Peru where certain industrial fishing activities are allowed. This is because, during the designation process, the State upheld the principle of “pre-existing rights,” meaning that fishing activities lawfully carried out in the area prior to the establishment of the MPA are respected. This includes industrial fishing conducted by national vessels that held valid rights before the creation of the MPA. However, it is important to clarify that this allowance does not extend to foreign fishing vessels, even if they operate under local fishing licenses. For example, foreign tuna vessels are not authorized to fish within the MPA. In 2025, the fishing authority imposed the first sanction on a foreign tuna vessel for fishing inside the MPA. The resolution (archived) explains in more detail how the concept of pre-existing rights is applied and why it does not cover foreign fishing vessels.
“Legal contributions regarding large-scale fishing in marine protected areas: restrictions and analysis of fishing permits as acquired rights,” (archived) LP Derecho, August 2025.
“Are there violations of labour rights in fishing companies in Paita?,” (archived) Cutivalú, May 31, 2018.
“Fishing Feast,” (archived) El Foco, May 31, 2022. Pedro Castillo's government issued a decree that forgave up to 90 percent of fines for large fishing companies. The report provides a list of the offending companies.
Directorial Resolution No. 10016-2019-Produce/DS-PA, (archived) Ministry of Production, translation, October 15, 2019.
Directorial Resolution No. 9175-2019-Produce/DS-PA, (archived) Ministry of Production, translation, pages 1 & 7, September 11, 2019.
Directorial Resolution No. 8357-2019-Produce/DS-PA, (archived) Ministry of Production, translation, pages 1 & 8, August 19, 2019.
Directorial Resolution No. 8214-2019-Produce/DS-PA, (archived) Ministry of Production, translation, page 1, August 12, 2019. Directorial Resolution No. 8188-2019-Produce/DS-PA, (archived) Ministry of Production, translation, page 1, August 12, 2019. Directorial Resolution No. 7161-2019-Produce/DS-PA, (archived) Ministry of Production, translation, page 7, July 9, 2019.
Directorial Resolution No. 8214-2019-Produce/DS-PA, (archived) Ministry of Production, translation, page 1 & 4, August 12, 2019.
Fishing activities within the Nazca Ridge MPA (Dorsal de Nasca) are not illegal. This MPA is the first in Peru where certain industrial fishing activities are allowed. This is because, during the designation process, the State upheld the principle of “pre-existing rights,” meaning that fishing activities lawfully carried out in the area prior to the establishment of the MPA are respected. This includes industrial fishing conducted by national vessels that held valid rights before the creation of the MPA. However, it is important to clarify that this allowance does not extend to foreign fishing vessels, even if they operate under local fishing licenses. For example, foreign tuna vessels are not authorized to fish within the MPA. In 2025, the fishing authority imposed the first sanction on a foreign tuna vessel for fishing inside the MPA. The resolution (archived) explains in more detail how the concept of pre-existing rights is applied and why it does not cover foreign fishing vessels.
To view The Outlaw Ocean Project’s email in full, visit the Discussion page. (Armadores Y Congeladores Del Pacifico S.A.)

Armadores Y Congeladores Del Pacifico S.A.

DistancePeopleChildren*

5 miles: 111,39433,310

3 miles: 108,66132,130

1 mile: 21,7626,443

0.5 miles: 5,7241,777

* individuals under the age of 15

At least 5,700 people lived within a half mile of this plant, over 1,700 of them under the age of 15, while more than 111,300 lived within a five-mile radius, of which over 33,300 were under the age of 15, according to 2025 data from World Pop, a research institute based at the University of Southampton. This matters because it gives a sense of how many neighbors experience the quality of life concerns and health impacts of the foul stench of rotting fish and other toxic chemicals released into the air.

Armadores Y Congeladores Del Pacifico S.A. is related to at least 10 companies upstream, including 10 ships.

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